Majestic Creatures Profile

Hellhounds

Habitat: Valley of Despair and underground tunnels
Dimensions: big-sized dog
Diet: Meat
Rated Danger Level: 4
Appearance: large dog that looks like it was created by darkness and fire
Beast Tamer:

Hellhounds

are difficult to acquire, but the Beast Tamer has been known to capture some every few years.

Hellhounds

- like creatures feature in the mythology of many different cultures and religions across the world. In the majority of these stories, hellhounds are described as large black dogs with varied forms, including multiple heads, spectral bodies, hairy wolves, surrounded by flames and red eyes. It makes you wonder if there was some truth to these beliefs.

British Mythology

England
The concept of

Hellhounds

appears in folk tales in Anglo-Saxon Great Britain. They were recorded as demonic, supernatural black dogs. It is suspected they hunted around Peterborough and Stamford.

Wales
The Cŵn Annwn is a mythical, spectral hound associated with the "otherworld", a realm that appears in Celtic folklore and said to be the home of the fae-folk. Gwyn ap Nudd, who ruled over the Otherworld, was said to be accompanied by Cŵn Annwn during the Wild Hunt. The Wild Hunt is a term to describe supernatural tribes traversing into the mortal world in a ceremonial hunt. The pagan origins were later dubbed "Hounds of Hell" by Christian leaders while Celtic beliefs were put under scrutiny.

Greek Mythology

Greek myths coined the name Cereberus for the three-headed dog that stands guard for the gates of the Underworld. Cerebrus belonged to Hades, god of death, and prevented the dead from escaping.

Norse Mythology

A guard dog appears in Norse myths, quite similar to the Greek Cerberus. Norse Mythology names the dog Garmr or Garm, and has a more wolf-like appearance. Garmr is owned by Goddess Hel and Ragnarok, guarding the gates of Hel.

Arabian Mythology

The malevolent entity, Jinn, were believed to use black dogs to ride around the world, eating corpses they find in graveyards.

Japanese Mythology

A Yōkai by the name of Okuri-inu takes the form of a dog. They are a supernatural being from Japanese folklore who stalk people through the mountains at night. Disappearances in the mountains were associated with the Okuri-inu devouring fallen travellers. The Okuri-inu could be fooled by pretending to take a short rest.

The following is a comment from The Beast Tamer:

"Hellhounds: Known for their pyromantic properties, these infernal beasts wander the ancient abyss alone. Loyal to their beloved Master of Night, these creatures are extremely devoted and protective of mortals they share an unbreakable bond wit"

Hellhounds are a companion to the Night Lord, Tenebria.

Extract from "Creatures of Delvheim" by Morrigan Darkwaters

”Several animals were able to escape the notorious Valley of Despair, but none of them is as famous, and probably as dangerous, as the hellhound. Born directly from the darkness of the Valley, hellhounds are dog-like creatures that seem to be moulded out of darkness and fire. Once only present inside the Valley, they have found a new home in the deepest underground tunnels that run under Delvheim. There, they are predators that eat whatever moves and, since they live in small packs, they are a mortal danger to adventurers that got lost in the depths of the Delvic realm.
Considering that they are so dangerous, it is hard to believe that sometimes a hellhound will choose a person and become bound to them for as long as they are alive. This peculiar occurrence happened especially during the incident that ended with the freedom of Lord Tenebria from the Valley, and caused an increase in the Delvic hellhound population.”

OOG: Hellhounds often appear in the Beast Tamer's shop during the Halloween season as a special offer!

For more detailed sources of information, see the following links:
https://worldoflegend.eu/library/6dd73897-16ed-42a1-b3f0-9457274a7a5d
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellhound